A Light of Hope and Doom
by xMiaCarax
Summary: Short story with gothic elements. When a young girl runs from her life as she knew it in a spontaneous decision in the middle of the night, what happens when she finds herself unable to continue her journey and is stuck in the legendary small town of Volterra? One-Shot, unless I am convinced otherwise. Full Author's Note at the end.


**Disclaimer**: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight, I don't.

Dedicated to my dear friend and soon-to-be co-author _Wersa12345_. You rock.

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A Light of Hope and Doom

It was a cold winter night. The gravel of the abandoned Piazza was wet and slippery from the never-ending rain that relentlessly poured from the heavens, bringing with it a wave of cold from a neighbouring town. It was late at night; the inhabitants of the oblivious little town had long ago found peace under their covers. Myself, I could not say the same.

I was running, running away from my life at the fastest my legs could carry me. I had visibly left spontaneously, hoping I would find consolation in a place close to nowhere. My light blue silk night gown was soaked and dirty from my journey, my normally long blond hair a light shade of auburn from the water. I was barefoot. The cold embraced my legs, sending unpleasant shivers down my spine. I was losing the feeling in them.

Mist formed around me, crawling from underneath my feet and coating me in the knowledge that my journey had suddenly come to an end. Within seconds, I could not tell my own hands from my surroundings and cautiously made small steps forward, hoping to reach a wall I could use as a shelter from the rain. And, as if on cue, shortly later I reached one. From the feel of it, it was a brick wall, but an old one. Just by touching it, small pieces of it flaked off and landed in my hand. As far as I could say, it also smelled old. Of mold and clay, and a mysterious, sweet yet pleasant odour I could not quite place. I would have wondered what it was, but that moment my legs gave in on me and I fell onto the gravel of the Piazza, crying out as the bone in my right arm cracked, giving out a loud, dreadful sound.

Thick tears streamed down my face as I realized the stupidity of my decision, and the hopeless situation which I was in now. True, my former life had been more gruesome than words could describe; but now that I was lying here, dressed only in my night gown, soaked and dirty, in the middle of the night in a place I did not know while the rain poured down on my frozen legs and the broken arm, I knew instantaneously that I had reached a new low in my life.

Suddenly, a flickering light illuminated the night, carried by just about the most beautiful creature I had ever seen in my short, miserable life. It was pale, deadly pale, with long brunette curls and terrifying pitch black irises. Despite its obvious distinctions from me, I could not help but feel drawn to it. I wanted to walk towards it, badly, yet the feeling had still not come back to my legs and, inexplicably, a feeling of dread filled me. As if it were noticing my handicap, it gave me a breathtaking smile and made its way towards me in slow steps, its long black dress moving graciously in the wind. It was only when the woman had reached me that I noticed that the light coming from the silver chandelier in her hand had still not been quenched by the rain that continued pouring down from the sky.

"Hello, young one" she greeted me with a silk-like, alluring voice. I shuddered at her wording. Never had I been acquainted to a person who spoke like this, and the feeling of dread took over my sense of logic. However, I could not help but feel drawn to her. It was just like a nightmare, only that I wouldn't wake up.

The creature said no more, instead projecting her slender, pale hand towards me. I involuntarily took it. If it were not for the fact that my legs were impossible to move, I would have ran away that very instant without ever looking back. Instead, I stood up and followed her as the mist vanished all around us.

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_We were asked to write a 500 - 800 word gothic short in English today, so naturally, I had to have it include the Volturi...if only very subtely for obvious reasons. I thought you'd enjoy it though, so I went ahead and posted it. I originally wanted this to be a one-shot, but if there are enough reviews/follows/favs, I'll maybe continue. Anyways, I'd be eternally grateful if you were to REVIEW! Good or bad, praise or flame, they're always welcome, no matter what._


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